Page 90 of Fourteen of a Kind

“Thank you. I want the proposal to be extra special. We haven’t talked about marriage at all, so I want it to be a big surprise.”

“In this family, we do it together,” Nathan said. “We got you. What are you thinking?”

“Well, her birthday is in two weeks, and I thought it would be special to propose to her where we first met.”

“At Mount Sinai?” Christian’s brows furrowed.

“No.” I chuckled. “We only exchanged a few words there. We really met in Central Park.”

“Ah, where my darling niece told you she was an art student at NYU.” Conner smirked.

“Yeah.” I laughed.

“I like the idea,” Nathan said.

“Since her birthday is on a Saturday, I thought I would surprise Ella with a long weekend in New York. We’d fly out on Thursday. You guys could fly into New York Friday night and meet us in the park on Saturday.”

“We’ll get with the rest of the family and make sure they clear their schedules,” Nathan said.

“Don’t worry about Ella’s schedule. I’ll make sure she’s off from Thursday to Sunday,” Christian said.

“Thanks, Christian. I already talked to Dr. Ashley about it and she said I could have the time off.”

“Excellent.” Nathan stood up. “Don’t worry, son. We’ll make it happen.” He winked.

I stood and hugged him. “Thanks, Nathan.”

“Welcome to the family, Dr. Malone.”

My phone pinged. When I pulled it from my pocket, I saw a text from Ella.

“Ella’s home and wondering where I’m at. I better go.” I slipped the ring box into my pocket.

I walked down the beach and back to the house. When I stepped through the sliding door, I didn’t see Ella but heard the bath water running upstairs. Walking into the bedroom, I put the ring box in my drawer and entered the bathroom, where she was covered in bubbles.

“There you are.” She smiled. “Where were you?”

“Is there room in there for one more?” I grinned.

“You bet.”

I removed my clothes and climbed into the tub, wrapping my arms around her naked, beautiful body and pressing my lips against her shoulder.

“Are you going to tell me where you were?” she asked.

“I was talking to your Uncle Christian.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I was thinking about taking you to New York for your birthday and asking him if you could have the time off.”

“Really?” She looked up at me with happiness in her eyes.

“Really.” I smiled. “I thought we could leave on Thursday and fly back on Sunday. We could tour the museums, have dinner at the finest restaurants, shop on Fifth Avenue, and explore the city together. I know how much you love New York.”

“That sounds perfect.” She grinned, turning around in my arms.

“Good. I love you, and I want your birthday to be special.”

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